Bilingual children with only an hour of language exposure a day? If you do it right (& keep it fun) you can make it happen!

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

As we all know from financial investing, if we put our money into an account that has an interest rate of zero, then we are basically going to remain in a holding pattern. No loss (if we don’t count inflation) but also no growth! Not good.

To relate this with language learning: If we just repeat the same words over and over again in the same sentences and in the same contexts for weeks at a time, then our interest rate is going to remain stagnant. Using the words we have learned in new sentences, with new people, in different settings is key. Listening to audio programs, watching videos and taking notes, this will keep the ball rolling.

Getting excited about the culture is also key: making recipes from the culture, learning about the countries where the language is spoken, visiting cultural events in your community are all part of the process.

Putting all of this together is how our language will expand each day and each week. It is how we ensure that our interest rate remains high.

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Worried your kids may miss out on valuable life experiences when homeschooled? Think again. Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau presents this summary of just what

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Spanish Programs Online for Children (9+): they can learn the language using interactive materials that they can access on our virtual campus, developed by Spanish native teachers in Spain, in cooperation with the university of Malaga Spain. After learning each chapter, the children will speak with their private Spanish native teacher in Spain for a personal evaluation. A unique, fun and proficient way to learn the Spanish Language properly. For more information contact me: Sonja Hartemink info@spanishonline.nl

Here's the email I received last week. I was saving it for today, as I'll be speaking at a homeschool conference tomorrow: *The subject line of this email was: "Not all public school teachers are the devil...

We help homeschooling families teaching their children Spanish in a proficient, easy and fun way with interactive learning materials, guided and evaluated by Spanish native teachers in Spain. A unique concept!

Now, homeschool socialization is different. Here, a child learns his social skills from his parents. He is oriented by adults, not other children. He matures, and grows, and is provided a safe environment to, as the phrase goes, be himself. Despite common perception, I don’t think most homeschool kids are locked in a tower like Rapunzel, and forbidden from human contact. They have friends, they play sports, they emerge into society and interact with people.

The only difference is how they learn to interact. The public school kid learns to interact based on how his peers carry on in the hallways and at the lunch table, whereas the homeschool kids learns to interact based on the guidance of his parents.

Who has a better foundation for becoming a well adjusted adult?

I’m not insinuating that homeschool is perfect, or that homeschool students are perfectly adjusted, but I am absolutely declaring that ‘socialization’ is the WORST part of public school.

You'll be hard pressed to find a parent who doesn't want the best for their child. It's a biological trait that is baked into each parent, like a microchip in a cellphone. A huge part of that involves making sure they have the very best education. Nothing is quite the guarantor of future success as quality schooling is.

These interviews gave me a lot to think about. Each of the parents I spoke to were incredibly passionate about their child’s education, and the decision to take control of it is an incredibly brave one.

I was surprised at the maturity of the products on offer. There’s an entire marketplace of products designed specifically for homeschoolers. These are polished, developed and have undergone countless iterations of improvement.

I was also impressed with the diversity of the various products used by homeschoolers. This was touched upon by Jackie with respect to curriculums. There are a huge number of companies flogging their own comprehensive curriculums, and these appeal to the personal world views and preferences of the parents.

The ingenuity of the parents homeschooling also impressed me. I was amazed at how parents who had not grown up with the plethora of consumer electronics that we enjoy have leveraged them to enhance their child’s education.

In particular, I was surprised to see how touchscreen devices were the mainstay of most homeschoolers. There wasn’t a noticeable preference for platform, with Jackie providing her daughter an Android tablet (in the form of a Kindle Fire) whilst AngryGamerMom prefers the iOS-based iPad.

Regardless of the platform, there’s still a flourishing market of applications designed to supplement any homeschool child’s education. Apparently, the homeschool market is sufficiently large enough to attract developers

Introverted and extroverted children require different approaches for learning the minority language. Here are eight tips for raising bilingual introverts and extroverts.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

It wasn’t until she did grow that I realized that children are not copies of their parents and actually come to this world with inborn characteristics. Naïvely I had thought I was raising someone like me, in other words, an extrovert. Only after several years and many frustrating experiences for both of us, I came across a great book on personalities by Florence Littauer called “Personality Plus for Parents.” It clearly showed that Emma was an introvert, and therefore not motivated by the same things as someone with my personality type. I still remember the relief I felt when I realized, page by page, that Emma didn’t reject me as a parent when she didn’t respond to my attempts to have “fun quality time” together. Nor could or should I try to remake her into an extrovert. It was up to me to adjust my language activities to her personality type, for starters by respecting her need for privacy and dislike for social situations. Just as I started to understand what made Emma tick, our second daughter, Sara, was born. As we quickly found out, she was just as extroverted as I am—and then some!

Bilingual children with only an hour of language exposure a day? If you do it right (& keep it fun) you can make it happen!

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

As we all know from financial investing, if we put our money into an account that has an interest rate of zero, then we are basically going to remain in a holding pattern. No loss (if we don’t count inflation) but also no growth! Not good.

To relate this with language learning: If we just repeat the same words over and over again in the same sentences and in the same contexts for weeks at a time, then our interest rate is going to remain stagnant. Using the words we have learned in new sentences, with new people, in different settings is key. Listening to audio programs, watching videos and taking notes, this will keep the ball rolling.

Getting excited about the culture is also key: making recipes from the culture, learning about the countries where the language is spoken, visiting cultural events in your community are all part of the process.

Putting all of this together is how our language will expand each day and each week. It is how we ensure that our interest rate remains high.

There are roughly 7,000 languages currently spoken around the planet today. As the world continues to become more interconnected, due in large part to the ever-increasing use of the internet, languageuse will undoubtedly evolve, as well. use will undoubtedly evolve, as well.

Learn Spanish in a proficient and personal way from a distance. Centro de Enseñanza de Español La Herradura has developed Online Spanish Courses, with which we have succeeded to keep the high quality teaching as we have done since 1996. Through virtual platform, and evaluation by our Spanish native teachers in Spain.

Learn individually and at your own pace, from any location in the world where there is access to internet.

The children study individually through an educational platform, and are guided by Spanish native teachers in Spain.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Here is a quote from a 2006 report at the Center for Applied Linguistics:

Although many parents believe that bilingualism results in language delay, research suggests that monolingual and bilingual children meet major language developmental milestones at similar times.

Despite the ongoing research on childhood bilingualism and researchers around the world doing their best to get the word out, the belief that language delay is a byproduct of bilingualism is still an ongoing misconception.

I‘ll go out on a limb here and say that the majority of parents who’ve homeschooled more than a year or two start thinking about creating independent learners. Once our kids have mastered the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, we’re ready to start preparing them for learning on their own. It’s not, I don’t think, that we are eager to get away from our kids. It’s just that, by that point, we’ve spent a lot of time pouring in to them and we’re ready for them to start working on their own a bit. You know, long enough for us to do a load of laundry, put away the dirty dishes, or make a quick phone call. Or go to the bathroom alone. I don’t really expect a lot of independence from my kids until they’re about middle school age, but there are little things that we can start doing to prepare them before then. - See more at: http://simplehomeschool.net/independence/#more-31158

Our basic linguistic set-up is Papa speaks only French with the children and Mama speaks two weeks in English and two weeks in Spanish with the children. Since we live in France, the children also hear and use French everywhere they go.

When we lived in the United States, we used OPOL (one parent one language). I spoke exclusively Spanish with the children, my husband spoke exclusively French with the children and they hear English everywhere else they went. When we moved to France, we realized we would need to come up with a new plan if we didn’t want them to lose either their English or Spanish. And since both of these languages are an intimate part of who I am, I knew I wasn’t prepared to let either go.

And so I started speaking English or Spanish with the children every other day. But I quickly realized the mental gymnastics this represented for all of us and somewhere I had heard that one family would spend an entire month in a language. This seemed like too long to me, but I liked the idea and thought that maybe somewhere between one day and one month might be a good compromise. We settled on two weeks. We tried it, we loved it and we’ve never looked back.

Today we have four children ages 16 months to 13 years old and they are all trilingual (yes, even the baby in his own cute way!). Here are seven things we do that might help you use the same multilingual learning system in your home.

Research has shown that reading to children helps them learn vocabulary and improves listening comprehension skills. As a parent or teacher, you are probably convinced of the value of reading to your child in Spanish, but how should you do it to promote language development?

First, it is important to keep in mind that above all reading should be enjoyable. We want to create positive associations with reading in any language. So, use these strategies and add plenty of silliness, snuggling, or whatever makes your child smile.

Is homeschool for you? Making the decision to homeschool is usually very difficult and not one to be taken lightly. It is a personal decision that I can't make for you, but maybe I can help you think it through. Consider these things in making your decision to homeschool.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

If you would like your children to learn Spanish in not only a very professional, but also personal way, contact us for more information. Our qualified and experienced Spanish native teachers in Spain will evaluate the learning process and progress. Let your child profit by learning with the newest teaching techniques (virtual platform) and at the same time be guided by a Spanish native teacher during one-on-one online sessions. A unique and very effective concept of Blended Learning.

The younger your children are, the better it is to introduce them to a foreign language. Discover the top languages your kids should learn.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

research published in Psychological Science suggests that simply thinking in a foreign language helps people make quicker and better life decisions. Furthermore, a study by the College Entrance Examination Board reports a direct correlation between foreign language study and high SAT scores. People who speak a foreign language often enjoy better career prospects and higher standards of living. And there are even health benefits -- recent research from the University of Chicago suggests that a second language also helps prevent dementia later in life

Personal and professional Spanish Online for children and teenagers. We offer interactive Spanish learning resources, created by qualified and experienced Spanish native teachers in Spain. Virtual platform and one-one-one evaluation with Spanish teachers in Spain are the ingredients for outstanding performances by your child. Learn Spanish in a fun & proficient way.

Back in the olden days when I was a homeschool student, one of the most common fears society used to prey on homeschooling parents was that they weren’t qualified to be good enough teachers to their children. Oh, and of course, the children wouldn’t know how to function in society.

(Thank you, mom, for being brave enough to stand up to the fear. I will forever be indebted to you for that courage.)

In spite of all we have accomplished collectively, as individual homeschooling parents, we still feel, well–inadequate. Not quite up to par. I think this is partly because we seem to think that if our child has not discovered a new scientific element by the time he is nine and our homeschool room does not rival the best Pinterest board, we must be doing something wrong.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Spanish Programs Online for Children (9+): they can learn the language using interactive materials that they can access on our virtual campus, developed by Spanish native teachers in Spain, in cooperation with the university of Malaga Spain. After learning each chapter, the children will speak with their private Spanish native teacher in Spain for a personal evaluation. A unique, fun and proficient way to learn the Spanish Language properly. For more information contact me: Sonja Hartemink info@spanishonline.nl

Blog post at LivingMontessoriNow.com : It seems overwhelming, I know. There are so many amazing Montessori activities and resources online, books to buy, and materials to make and[..] by Deb Chitwood

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

#spanish for homeschooling families: virtual educational platform, and evaluation by Spanish native teachers in Spain. For children (+9) and teenagers. Contact me for more information info@spanishonline.nl

After running a Spanish Language School in the South of Spain, teaching foreign families for many years, we have developed Online courses, to make our good quality product available to a lot more children, teenagers and adults. We have developed a virtual platform, with interactive learning materials, blog, fora, online library and online medium, for one-on-one evaluations with qualified Spanish native teachers in Spain. Feel free to contact me for more information: sonja@spanish-school-herradura.com

Most advice for parents raising bilingual children is based on the presumption that there are two parents actively involved in the upbringing. What if you are a single parent and don’t have the support of a partner – can it still be done? This is a question that has been put to me quite a few times, so hence today’s post.

. know some experts discourage single parents from attempting to raise bilingual children, as it is not an easy task. Things to take into consideration are: Will you be the person passing on the minority language? If yes, how much time will you be able to spend with your child? Will sticking to the chosen language cause extra pressure for you? I am stating the obvious here, but being a single parent is not an easy thing to do at the best of times, so you need to be realistic about what you can take on. There are a lot of benefits in becoming bilingual for your child, but a highly stressed-out parent due to additional pressure from chosen common language is a very high price to pay for it. However, if you feel passionate about it and, after taking the above into account, think it is doable, I also believe that you can do it and commend you for it. It will take a fair amount of determined commitment, a lot of your time, some help from others and maybe a bit of money, depending on the circumstances.

Looking for professional and personal Online Spanish courses for Children and Teenagers:

Since I’m most familiar with the introverted parent’s perspective–let’s start today with some thoughts about homeschooling as an introvert. Introverts are not backwards, insecure, or unsociable. We simply fuel ourselves through thoughts, ideas, and time alone. When tanked up and ready to go, we can enjoy people time as much as anyone else. But when we have nothing but people time, our reserves begin to dwindle, which leads to burnout.

“So stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don’t let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don’t force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured.” - See more at: http://simplehomeschool.net/introvert/#more-22959

I get lots of emails from moms who are homeschooling who feel like they are failing.

This fear of failure is palpable when I am perusing homeschool groups to which I belong. It looms in the background of homeschooling blogs I read. And this fear along with the guilt put upon homeschooling mothers and families can be paralyzing. This fear then leads to massive consumerism and endless discontent.

I would guess that at least 90% of homeschooling parents are afraid that they aren’t doing enough or that they are in some way failing their children on some level, when the truth is, you are doing an incredible job. Yet, you still feel like you need to read and re-read the countless articles, books, and newsletters and attend the hundreds of seminars, webinars and courses on how to succeed at homeschool, and you are all still worried. So, I am going to tell you how you can fail. Maybe it will help. Maybe then, you can just check off that you are not doing the fail thing and go on your way and breathe a sigh of relief and relax.

While the ability to communicate with people from different cultures is an asset, bilingual children experience some significant health benefits as well.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

“From the perspective of brain development, [growing up bilingual] is very beneficial,” Azadeh Aalai, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Montgomery College in Maryland, and author of Understanding Aggression: Psychological Origins & Approaches to Aggressive Behavior, told Saludify. “Our brain has structural plasticity, meaning it changes and adapts based on what we are exposed to in the environment, so learning multiple languages actually serves as an enriching experience that optimizes the capacity of the brain"

Professional and Personal Online Spanish Courses for Children and Teenagers, guided and evaluated by Spanish native teachers in Spain

Blogging, Google+ and the iHomeschool Network Many homeschool moms out there are seeking new alternatives for income and one alternative is blogging, often affectionately referred to as “mommyblogg...

#Online #Spanish courses for children and teenagers, through virtual educational platform, evaluated by qualified Spanish native teachers in Spain. A unique opportunity for your children to learn Spanish from the comfort of their own homes.

More info: spanish-school-herradura.com/online-spanish

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Blogging is very suitable for homeschool moms because it offers great flexibility, it can be born out of a passion for a particular niche and many homeschool moms just enjoy writing. Though mommy blogging can turn out to be a viable source of discretionary income (or more), it takes more than throwing up a blog and posting some content every once in a while. It takes motivation and perseverance to grow your blog and be successful. It also takes a certain level of quality content which may mean you need a willingness on your part to seek self-improvement and maybe even seek outside advice.

I feel lucky to have grown up bilingual. I have my mother to thank for that, who insisted I learned a foreign language. I also attribute my passion for travel to my maternal grandfather. He was a top executive at Braniff International Airlines in Argentina and we were fortunate enough to travel for free when we were kids thanks to him. I also look up to my grandmother. She was a world explorer and wanderer herself; she took me and my brother everywhere on her trips.

What my mother didn’t know – and maybe regretted later – was that by insisting on a bilingual education, she was encouraging her daughter to leave her home country.

And that’s exactly what I did. With mastery of the English language, which I learned early in preschool in Argentina, I left home as soon as I became of age. Driving by the domestic airport (“Aeroparque”) as a kid meant freedom. It was a gateway for exotic adventures across distant lands. I always knew I’d be a perfect adventure-goer as I possessed a critical skill: bilingualism.

Here’s why I think everyone would benefit from growing up bilingual:

Learning another language will open doors to new cultures and ideas, as it did for me. By learning a foreign language, you also end up loving the culture and shapes the way you think.Once you master the first foreign language, learning other languages become easier. I picked up Portuguese in a matter of weeks while living in Brazil. Somehow my brain was already wired for learning.There is nothing more rewarding than being able to help and translate for someone who doesn’t speak the language. Serving as a bridge between two different cultures helps people understand one other better to reach a common ground. Being able to switch from one language to another is also personally fulfilling.Bilingual children are more adaptable and flexible. Since I moved from California to Miami last year, I noticed that my children are finally grasping Spanish and embracing the Latin culture. This is all thanks to people here in Southern Florida who are bilingual and bi-cultural by nature. My kids’ personalities have changed for the better; they are now resourceful, open-minded to travel and hopefully be citizens of the world.Bilingualism opens many doors: from job prospects, to friendships and relationships. Being bilingual will offer you twice as many options and possibilities. You’ll never be bored! Life will be more colorful, interesting and full.

1 – Habit If you consistently stick to speaking the minority language with your children, they are less likely to want to switch to the majority language with you, even when it becomes the main language of their day spent at nursery or school.

2 – Need Nothing is as motivating as the need to speak a language. Without coercion, come up with situations where your children will want to communicate with monolinguals in the minority language. Think of play dates, Skype calls, sports and other activities in the language.

3 – Travel Being immersed in an environment where the minority language is the common language in the society is one of the most efficient ways to give the language a boost. Several parents have seen their children’s confidence in the minority language progress in leaps and bounds after a stay in a place where they are surrounded by the language and other speakers of it.

4 – Fun Make using the language fun – think of activities in the minority language which engage your children and make them want to speak it. This could be games, hobby groups or even computer games in the language

5 – Positive feedback I am a great believer in giving positive feedback. In the long run, encouraging a behaviour which moves towards the desired goal is far more effective than being told off for using the wrong language. Keep it realistic though: children see through you very quickly if they get praised no matter what they say. Your feedback needs to be honest.

6 – Incentive Children respond well to different incentives, but always make them age-appropriate. Your five-year-old will love getting a smiling sun sticker on the wall chart, but for your teenager you need to figure out something different. I also think it is sometimes okay to bribe your children to get them to speak your language. However, use bribes sparingly and save them for crucial situations when your children show tendencies to drop the minority language.

7 – Be a great role model The importance of you as a role model for your child can not be underestimated. Show pride in your language and use it whenever you can. Read books – any books: biographies, chick lit, novels, non-fiction, cooking books, you name it – you children will also want to read. Teach them about the culture of your language: traditions, food, clothing, arts, sports, history, fashion, movies …

Homeschooling has been around for most of recorded history, but hybrid homeschooling is a fairly new phenomenon. For hybrid homeschoolers, education takes on multiple dimensions, combining elements of both homeschooling and traditional schooling to take advantage of the best aspects of both.

Professional & Educational Online #Spanish Courses for children and teenagers, guided and evaluated by Spanish native teachers in Spain.

It’s estimated that there are between 1.7 and 2.1 million children homeschooled in the U.S. today, and that number is in an upward swing, with a growth rate of 7 to 15% each year, particularly over the last two decades. Much of this may be thanks to the proliferation of hybrid homeschooling, allowing families many more options when it comes to customized home education as they bring in a combination of private tutoring, educational programs, group classes, and even online courses.

Home education is a wonderful way to stay close to your children while helping them become well-rounded teenagers and adults. It offers you the opportunity to tailor your children's education to suit your children, your lifestyle, and your beliefs.

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Education at home also gives you a safe ‘home base’ for your children while they explore the people and places around them. With the ability to individualize your child’s education, you can truly foster a lifelong love of learning.

If you would like your children to learn Spanish in not only a very professional, but also personal way, contact us for more information. Our qualified and experienced Spanish native teachers in Spain will evaluate the learning process and progress. Let your child profit by learning with the newest teaching techniques (virtual platform) and at the same time be guided by a Spanish native teacher during one-on-one online sessions. A unique and very effective concept of Blended Learning.

Homeschooling as an alternative form of education in the United States has become a widely viable option for parents. The number of children being homeschooled has risen dramatically in recent years. ...

Sonja Hartemink e-learning Spanish's insight:

Sitting in the park with your two young children in the middle of the afternoon, you give them a lesson about nature, pointing to the clouds. Some guy walking his dog comes up to you and asks you why your children aren’t in school. “This IS school”, you explain to him. He doesn’t get it. As he walks away, he shakes his head and criticizes you, telling you that your children will never be able to make it society. Don’t worry. He is wrong.

Professional and personal Online Spanish Courses guided and evaluated by qualified native teachers in Spain.

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